Disk drive device and electronic apparatus

ABSTRACT

A disk drive device includes a housing having a front side with a slot through which a disk-shaped recording medium is inserted and ejected, a pickup unit including a mount on which the recording medium is mounted, a rotating mechanism that rotates the recording medium on the mount, a pickup mechanism that reproduces a signal recorded on the recording medium, a pickup-moving mechanism that moves the pickup mechanism in a radial direction of the recording medium, and a base plate that has a protruding surface guiding the recording medium toward the mount and on which the mount, the rotating mechanism, the pickup mechanism, and the pickup-moving mechanism are integrated, and a conveying mechanism that conveys the recording medium between the slot and the mount.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese PatentApplication JP 2005-121728 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Apr.19, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to disk drive devices for recording andreproducing signals on disk-shaped recording media, such as opticaldisks, and electronic apparatuses. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to a slot-in disk drive device that can directlyreceive and eject a disk-shaped recording medium through a slot and anelectronic apparatus including the disk drive device.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, disk-shaped recording media including optical disks, such ascompact disks (CD) and digital versatile disks (DVD), andmagneto-optical (MO) disks, such as minidisks (MD), are commonly knownand various kinds of disk drive devices compatible with these disks havebeen provided.

In one type of disk drive device, a lid or a door provided on a housingis opened so that a disk can be directly attached to a turntable thatfaces outside through the lid or the door. In another type of disk drivedevice, a disk is placed on a disk tray that is horizontally conveyedinto or out of a device body and the disk is automatically mounted on aturntable disposed in the device body when the disk tray is pulled intothe device body. In a still another type of disk drive, the turntable isformed integrally with the disk tray and a disk is directly mounted onthe turntable when the disk tray is conveyed out of the device body.However, in either type, a user performs an operation of opening/closingthe lid or the door, moving the disk tray inward and outward, ormounting the disk on the turntable.

In comparison, a so-called slot-in disk drive device is known in which adisk is automatically pulled into a device body and mounted on aturntable when the disk is simply inserted through a slot that isprovided in the front side of a housing. In this disk drive device, whena disk is inserted into the slot, a load operation of pulling the diskinto the housing or an eject operation of ejecting the disk from thehousing through the slot is performed by rotating a pair of guiderollers that face each other in the opposite directions while the diskis held between the guide rollers.

On the other hand, there are demands for smaller, thinner, and lightermobile apparatuses, such as notebook personal computers, and AVapparatuses, such as DVD recorders, in which the disk drive devices aremounted. Accordingly, there are demands for smaller, thinner, andlighter disk drive devices for use in such a mobile apparatus and an AVapparatus. In addition, recently, there have been higher demands forslot-in disk drive devices that provide good operational feel than fortray-type disk drive devices that have been mainly used in personalcomputers and the like.

However, in a typical slot-in disk drive device, the length of the pairof guide rollers is longer than the disk diameter, and therefore thewidth of the overall device is relatively large. In addition, since thedisk is held between the pair of guide rollers, the thickness of thedevice is also large. Therefore, it is considerably difficult to providea small, thin slot-in disk drive device.

Accordingly, to satisfy the demands for small, thin slot-in disk drivedevices, a slot-in disk drive device including a plurality of rotatingarms disposed between a disk inserted through a slot and a base to whicha turntable for receiving the disk is attached has been suggested in,for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2002-117604 (see paragraph [0029] and FIG. 1). In this disk drivedevice, a load operation of pulling the disk into the housing throughthe slot and an eject operation of ejecting the disk from the housingthrough the slot are performed by rotating the rotating arms in a planeparallel to the disk.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, the above-mentioned disk drive device according to JapaneseUnexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-117604 can receiveonly disks with a diameter of 12 cm, which is the standard size.Therefore, when a disk with a size other than the standard size, forexample, a small-diameter disk with a diameter of 8 cm like a single CDand a recording DVD used in a camcorder, is inserted through the slot,the small-diameter disk is ejected through the slot. In other words, itis difficult for the disk drive device described in Japanese UnexaminedPatent Application Publication No. 2002-117604 to perform a centeringoperation for positioning a disk at a disk mounting position using therotating arms for disks with different diameters.

In addition, in the slot-in disk drive device according to JapaneseUnexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-117604, the userinserts the disk to a certain depth through the slot and pushes the rearperipheral portion of the disk in the disk insertion direction.Therefore, the disk may be inserted into the housing through the slot inan inclined (tilted) manner. In such a case, there is a risk that thedisk surface will be damaged by coming into contact with componentsdisposed in the housing. In addition, there is a disk that the disk willdirectly come into contact with an optical pickup (hereafter abbreviatedas OP) mechanism disposed in the housing and damage an objective lensincluded in the OP.

In light of the above-described situation, it is desirable to provide ahighly reliable disk drive device that can prevent a disk from collidingwith an objective lens included in a pickup mechanism or with othercomponents even when the disk is inserted through a slot in an inclinedmanner and an electronic apparatus including the disk drive apparatus.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a disk drive deviceincludes a housing having a front side that has a slot through which adisk-shaped recording medium is inserted and ejected, a pickup unitincluding a mount on which the recording medium inserted into thehousing through the slot is mounted, a rotating mechanism that rotatesthe recording medium mounted on the mount, a pickup mechanism capable ofreproducing a signal recorded on the recording medium rotated by therotating mechanism, a pickup-moving mechanism that moves the pickupmechanism in a radial direction of the recording medium, and a baseplate that has a protruding surface of guiding the recording mediumtoward the mount and on which the mount, the rotating mechanism, thepickup mechanism, and the pickup-moving mechanism are integrated, and aconveying mechanism that conveys the recording medium between the slotand the mount.

The disk-shaped recording medium may be an optical disk, such as a CDand a DVD, or a magneto-optical disk, such as an MD. The protrudingsurface is positioned outside the recording medium when the recordingmedium is mounted on the mount. A part of the pickup mechanism may becovered by the protruding surface when the pickup mechanism is moved toa position near the slot by the pickup-moving mechanism. In this case,the part of the pickup mechanism covered by the protruding surfaceincludes, for example, a part of a surface of an actuator cover thatsupports an actuator disposed near the objecting lens in the pickupmechanism but does not include the objective lens. The conveyingmechanism may include rotating arms that can rotate along a planeparallel to the inserted recording medium while holding the recordingmedium. Alternatively, the conveying mechanism may also include a pairof guide rollers that can rotate in the opposite directions whileholding the recording medium between the guide rollers. The disk drivedevice may either be formed as a stand alone device or be included inelectronic apparatuses such as personal computers (PC) and audio/visual(A/V) apparatuses.

According to the above-described structure, since the protruding surfaceis provided, the recording medium is guided to the mount even when therecording medium is inserted through the slot such that recording mediumis inclined toward the lower front. Accordingly, the recording medium isprevented from being damaged by coming into contact with the componentsdisposed in the housing. In addition, the objective lens included in thepickup mechanism is prevented from being damaged by coming into contactwith the recording medium. In addition, the insertion angle of therecording medium is restricted by the protruding surface and therecording medium can be smoothly guided to the conveying mechanism inthe standby state.

In the disk drive device according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, the protruding surface may be integrated on the base plate.In such a case, since the protruding surface and the base plate areintegrated as a single component, the number of components does notincrease even when the protruding surface is provided. Accordingly, themanufacturing process can be facilitated and the costs can be reduced.In addition, the weight of the disk drive device can be reduced.

In the disk drive device according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, the pickup unit may further include a sheet member that isadhered so as to cover the protruding surface and composed of fiber orleather. The sheet member is made of a material that has a lowcoefficient of friction and that does not easily damage the recordingmedium. For example, artificial leather obtained by impregnating unwovenfabric with urethane resin, synthetic fabric including synthetic leatherobtained by impregnating woven fabric with resin, natural leather, etc.,may be used as the material of the sheet member. Accordingly, therecording medium can be prevented from being damaged by the sheet membereven when the recording member inserted through the slot comes intocontact with the protruding surface.

In the disk drive device according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, the base plate may have a projection that guides therecording medium onto a surface of the sheet member when the recordingmedium is ejected. The projection may be integrated on the base plate orbe formed separately from the base plate. Accordingly, in the ejectionoperation of the recording medium, a situation that the peripheralportion of the recording medium collides with (becomes caught by) thesheet member and the ejection of the recording medium is impeded can beavoided.

In the above-described disk drive device, the sheet member may have anend face that faces a direction in which the recording medium isinserted and the projection may be provided so as to cover the end face.In such a case, the projection may be formed so as to extend over theentire length of the boundary between the sheet member and an inclinedsurface so that the entire region of the end face of the sheet member iscovered by the projection. Alternatively, a plurality of projectionsthat partially cover the end face may be provided at predeterminedintervals. Accordingly, the recording medium can be prevented fromcolliding with the end face of the sheet member when the recordingmedium is ejected and the recording medium can be reliably guided ontothe surface of the sheet member.

In the above-described disk drive device, the base plate may have a slitat a position closer to the slot than the projection and the sheetmember may extend through the slit and be folded onto a bottom surfaceof the base plate. In this case, since the end face is folded onto thebottom surface of the base plate, the recording medium does not collidewith the end face of the sheet member when the recording medium isejected. Accordingly, this structure and the above-described projectionallow the recording medium to be more reliably guided onto the surfaceof the sheet member.

In the disk drive device according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, the protruding surface may have a drawn portion. In such acase, the strength of the protruding surface can be ensured and theprotruding surface can be prevented from being bent or deformed when therecording medium comes into contact with the protruding surface. Thisstructure is particularly effective when, for example, the protrudingsurface is formed on a thin metal plate to reduce the thickness of thedisk drive device.

In the disk drive device according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, the protruding surface may be coated with resin. When, forexample, the protruding surface is coated with resin, such as urethane,that does not easily damage the recording medium, the recording mediumcan be prevented from being damaged by coming into contact with theprotruding surface in the insertion process even if the sheet member isnot provided. In addition, not only the protruding surface but also theentire area of the base plate may be coated with resin.

The disk drive device according to the embodiment of the presentinvention may be capable of receiving a first disk and a second disk asthe recording medium, the first disk having a first diameter and thesecond disk having a second diameter that is different from the firstdiameter. The first disk may be, for example, a large-diameter with adiameter of 12 cm used in commonly used CD players and DVD players, andthe second disk may be a small-diameter disk with a diameter of 8 cmused in camcorders and the like. The first and second diameters may, ofcourse, also be 8 cm and 12 cm, respectively. Accordingly, the recordingmedium and the objective lens included in the pickup mechanism may beprevented from being damaged in the disk drive device capable ofreceiving recording media with different diameters.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, an electronicapparatus includes a disk drive device and a control unit forcontrolling the operation of the disk drive device. The disk drivedevice includes a housing having a front side that has a slot throughwhich a disk-shaped recording medium is inserted and ejected, a pickupunit including a mount on which the recording medium inserted into thehousing through the slot is mounted, a rotating mechanism that rotatesthe recording medium mounted on the mount, a pickup mechanism capable ofreproducing a signal recorded on the recording medium rotated by therotating mechanism, a pickup-moving mechanism that moves the pickupmechanism in a radial direction of the recording medium, and a baseplate that has a protruding surface guiding the recording medium towardthe mount and on which the mount, the rotating mechanism, the pickupmechanism, and the pickup-moving mechanism are integrated, and aconveying mechanism that conveys the recording medium between the slotand the mount.

The electronic apparatuses may be computers including laptop and desktoppersonal computers, personal digital assistances (PDA), electronicdictionaries, cameras, display apparatuses, audio/visual apparatuses,mobile apparatuses, game apparatuses, car navigation apparatuses, robotapparatuses, and other various electric apparatuses. The control unitis, for example, a CPU that generates and transmits signals to at leastthe disk drive device on the basis of operation inputs from a user.

According to the present invention, a highly reliable disk drive devicethat can prevent a disk from colliding with an objective lens includedin a pickup mechanism or with other components even when the disk isinserted through a slot in an inclined manner and an electronicapparatus including the disk drive apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a disk drive device accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a top cover of the disk drivedevice viewed from the inside;

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating the inner structure of the disk drivedevice;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a pickup unit of the diskdrive device;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the pickup unit from which acover plate is removed;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the cover plate;

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating the disk drive device from which somecomponents are removed;

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating the disk drive device from which somemore components are removed;

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating the positional relationship between adrive lever and detection switches of the disk drive device;

FIG. 10A is a side view of the drive lever viewed from one side, FIG.10B is a top plan view of the drive lever, FIG. 10C is a side view ofthe drive lever viewed from the other side, and FIG. 10D is a bottomplan view of the drive lever;

FIG. 11A is a plan view illustrating the structure of a cam lever andFIG. 11B is a side view illustrating the structure of the cam lever;

FIG. 12A is a bottom plan view of the drive lever in the load operationand FIG. 12B is a top plan view of the drive lever in the loadoperation;

FIG. 13A is a bottom plan view of the drive lever in the eject operationand FIG. 13B is a top plan view of the drive lever in the ejectoperation;

FIG. 14 is a side view illustrating the state in which the pickup unitis at a releasing position in the operation of the disk drive device;

FIG. 15 is a side view illustrating the state in which the pickup unitis at a chucking position in the operation of the disk drive device;

FIG. 16 is a side view illustrating the state in which the pickup unitis at an intermediate position in the operation of the disk drivedevice;

FIG. 17 is a plan view illustrating the state in which insertion of alarge-diameter disk is started in the operation of the disk drivedevice;

FIG. 18 is a plan view illustrating the state in which the process ofpulling the large-diameter disk inward is started in the operation ofthe disk drive device;

FIG. 19 is a plan view illustrating the state in which thelarge-diameter disk is being pulled inward in the operation of the diskdrive device;

FIG. 20 is a plan view illustrating the state in which thelarge-diameter disk is positioned at the center in the operation of thedisk drive device;

FIG. 21 is a plan view illustrating the state in which chucking of thelarge-diameter disk for recording and/or reproducing is completed(recording/reproducing is performed) in the operation of the disk drivedevice;

FIG. 22 is a plan view illustrating the state in which thelarge-diameter disk is being ejected in the operation of the disk drivedevice;

FIG. 23 is a plan view illustrating the state in which a contact pin isengaged with a stopper when the large-diameter disk is ejected in theoperation of the disk drive device;

FIG. 24 is a plan view illustrating the state in which insertion of asmall-diameter disk is started in the operation of the disk drivedevice;

FIG. 25 is a plan view illustrating the state in which a detectionswitch that detects the insertion of the small-diameter disk is pressedin the operation of the disk drive device;

FIG. 26 is a plan view illustrating the state in which the process ofpulling the small-diameter disk inward is started in the operation ofthe disk drive device;

FIG. 27 is a plan view illustrating the state in which thesmall-diameter disk is being pulled inward in the operation of the diskdrive device;

FIG. 28 is a plan view illustrating the state in which thesmall-diameter disk is positioned at the center and the eject operationis started in the disk drive device;

FIG. 29 is a plan view illustrating the state in which chucking of thesmall-diameter disk for recording and/or reproducing is completed in theoperation of the disk drive device;

FIG. 30 is a plan view illustrating the state in which thesmall-diameter disk is being ejected in the operation of the disk drivedevice;

FIGS. 31A and 31B are sectional views illustrating the manners in whicha disk is inserted though a slot in the disk drive device according tothe embodiment of the present invention and a known disk drive device,respectively;

FIGS. 32A and 32B are enlarged views showing parts of FIGS. 31A and 31B,respectively;

FIG. 33 is a schematic sectional side view illustrating a region arounda projecting surface when the disk is ejected;

FIGS. 34A and 34B are sectional side views illustrating examples ofmanners in which a sheet member, which impedes the ejection of the disk,is adhered.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a projection according to anotherembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing a projection according to a still anotherembodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a disk drive device 1according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is aperspective view illustrating a top cover of the disk drive device 1viewed from the inside. FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating the innerstructure of the disk drive device 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, the disk drive device 1 includes a housing 3 thatfunctions as an outer shell. The housing 3 includes a substantiallyflat-box shaped bottom case 4 that functions as a lower housing sectionand a top cover 5 that covers an upper opening of the bottom case 4.

The disk drive device 1 can record and reproduce signals on a disk 2which may either be a large-diameter disk 2A shown in FIG. 1 that has adiameter of 12 cm and a small-diameter disk shown in FIG. 3 that has adiameter of 8 cm.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the top cover 5 is formed of a thin metalplate and includes a top plate 5 a that covers the upper opening of thebottom case 4 and a pair of side plates 5 b formed by bending sideportions of the top plate 5 a along the opposite sides of the bottomcase 4. The top plate 5 a has a substantially circular hole 6 atsubstantially the center thereof. An engaging projection 28 a of aturntable 23 a that engages with a center hole 2 a formed in the disk 2is exposed to the outside through the hole 6 when a chucking operation,which will be described below, is performed. In addition, the top plate5 a has a contact projection 7 that slightly projects toward the insideof the housing 3 along the periphery of the hole 6. The contactprojection 7 comes into contact with a peripheral portion of the centerhole 2 a of the disk 2 when the disk 2 is placed on the turntable 23 a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the top plate 5 a has a guide member 8 on an innerprincipal surface thereof. The guide member 8 guides an end portion of afirst rotating arm 35 and an end portion of a second rotating arm 36,which will be described below, toward and away from each other whilerestriction the vertical positions thereof. The guide member 8 is formedof a substantially arc-shaped metal plate that extends between the sideplates 5 b along the top plate 5 a, and is attached to the inner surfaceof the top plate 5 a by spot welding or caulking at a position near thefront side. In addition, the guide member 8 has an attachment portionthat is adjacent to the front side and a retaining portion 8 a that ishigher than the attachment portion and that is adjacent to the rearside. Accordingly, a guide groove 9 with which the end portion of thefirst rotating arm 35 and the end portion of the second rotating arm 36are engaged is formed between the retaining portion 8 a of the guidemember 8 that is adjacent to the rear side and the top plate 5 a. Inaddition, the top plate 5 a has windows 10 for bringing the end portionof the first rotating arm 35 and the end portion of the second rotatingarm 36 into engagement with the guide groove 9.

In addition, a diamond-shaped drawn portion 5 c is provided atsubstantially the center of the principal surface of the top plate 5 a.The drawn portion 5 c is formed by being drawn toward the bottom surfaceof the housing 3 in an area where the first rotating arm 35 and thesecond rotating arm 36 are not disposed or rotated in the housing 3. Thedrawn portion 5 c serve to increase the strength of the top plate 5 a,to restrict the inclination of the disk 2 inserted through the slot 19,and to press the disk 2 from above in the chucking operation so that thechucking operation can be smoothly performed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom case 4 is formed of an approximatelyflat-box shaped metal plate. The bottom case 4 has a substantiallyrectangular bottom plate and a wing portion 4 a that extends outward ata position higher than the bottom plate on one side of the bottom case4.

A circuit board on which electronic components, such as an IC chip, thatform a drive control circuit (not shown) for controlling the operationof the disk drive device 1, a connector for providing electricalconnections, and detection switches, which will be described below, fordetecting various movements are arranged is attached to the bottom plateof the bottom case 4 with screws or the like. In addition, a chassis 11is attached to the bottom plate of the bottom case 4 with screws. Thechassis 11 is positioned above the circuit board so as to divide theinside of the bottom case 4 at substantially the same height as theheight of the above-mentioned wing portion 4 a.

As shown in FIG. 1, the top cover 5 is attached to the bottom case 4with screws 12. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality ofthrough holes 13 for receiving the screws 12 shown in FIG. 1 are formedalong the peripheral edge section of the top plate 5 a. In addition, theside plates 5 b have a plurality of guide tabs 14 that are bent inwardat a substantially right angle. As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom case 4has fixing tabs 15 that are bent inward at a substantially right angleon the peripheral edge thereof. The fixing tabs 15 have screw holes 16that correspond to the through holes 13 formed in the top cover 5. Inaddition, a plurality of guide slits 17 for retaining the guide tabs 14of the top cover 5 are formed in the opposite sides of the bottom case4.

When the top cover 5 is attached to the bottom case 4, the top cover 5is caused to slide in the front to rear direction while the guide tabs14 on the top cover 5 are engaged with the guide slits 17 formed in thebottom case 4. Thus, the upper opening of the bottom case 4 is coveredby the top plate 5 a of the top cover 5. Then, the screws 12 areinserted through the through holes 13 in the top cover 5 and areattached to the screw holes 16 in the bottom case 4. Thus, the housing 3shown in FIG. 1 is obtained.

After the assembly, label seals (not shown) are adhered the top plate 5a of the top cover 5 to block the above-mentioned hole 6 and the windows10. Accordingly, dust can be prevented from entering the housing 3 and alaser leakage to the outside can be avoided.

As shown in FIG. 1, a substantially rectangular plate-shaped front panel18 is attached at the front side of the housing 3. The front panel 18has a slot 19 through which the disk 2 is horizontally inserted andejected. Accordingly, the disk 2 can be inserted into the housing 3through the slot 19 or be ejected from the housing 3 through the slot19. In addition, the front panel 18 has a display element 20 thatilluminates to indicate the state of access to the disk 2, an ejectbutton 21 that is pressed when the disk 2 is to be ejected, and acurtain 32 that prevents dust from entering and holds the disk 2 with africtional force when the disk 2 is ejected.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a pickup unit 22 included inthe disk drive device 1. FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating thepickup unit 22 from which a cover plate 150 is removed. FIG. 6 is anexploded perspective view of the cover plate 150.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the disk drive device 1 has a pickup unit 22that forms a main body of the disk drive device 1 on the bottom plate ofthe bottom case 4.

The pickup unit 22 includes a disk mount 23 on which the disk 2 insertedinto the housing 3 through the slot 19 is mounted; a disk-rotatingmechanism 24 for rotating the disk 2 mounted on the disk mount 23; apickup mechanism 25 for writing or reading signals on the disk 2 rotatedby the disk-rotating mechanism 24; and a pickup-moving mechanism 26 forconveying the pickup mechanism 25 in the radial direction of the disk 2.The pickup unit 22 has an ultra-slim structure in which theabove-mentioned components are integrated on a base plate 27.

The pickup unit 22 is arranged on the bottom plate of the bottom case 4at a position closer to the front side than the chassis 11 such that thedisk mount 23 is placed at substantially the center of the bottom case4. In addition, the pickup unit 22 can be moved vertically by abase-lifting mechanism 55, which will be described below, and ispositioned lower than the disk 2 inserted into the housing 3 through theslot 19 in the initial state.

As shown in FIG. 6, the base plate 27 is formed by punching out a metalplate in a predetermined shape and bending the peripheral portionthereof downward. The base plate 27 is covered by the cover plate 150from above. A substantially semicircular table opening 150 g throughwhich the turntable 23 a of the disk mount 23 faces upward and asubstantially rectangular pickup opening 150 h which continues from thetable opening 150 g and through which an objective lens 25 a included inthe pickup mechanism 25 faces upward is formed in the principal surfaceof the cover plate 150.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the base plate 27 includes a first supportshaft 59 that projects on a side that faces a drive lever 52, which willbe described below, at a position near the disk mount 23; a secondsupport shaft 60 that projects on a side that faces a cam lever 56 shownin FIGS. 11A and 11B, which will be described below, at a position nearthe disk mount 23; a third support shaft 62 that projects on a sideopposite to the side that faces the drive lever 52 at a position nearthe front side; and a fixing support portion 65 provided on a sideopposite to the side surface that faces the cam lever 56 at a positionnear the front side.

The disk mount 23 has the turntable 23 a that is rotated by thedisk-rotating mechanism 24, and a chucking mechanism 28 for attachingthe disk 2 to the turntable 23 a is provided at the center of theturntable 23 a. The chucking mechanism 28 includes an engagingprojection 28 a that engages with the center hole 2 a of the disk 2 anda plurality of retaining lugs 28 b for retaining the disk 2 at theperiphery of the center hole 2 a that engages with the engagingprojection 28 a. Thus, the chucking mechanism 28 retains the disk 2 onthe turntable 23 a.

The disk-rotating mechanism 24 has a flat spindle motor 24 a that causesthe disk 2 to rotate together with the turntable 23 a. The spindle motor24 a is attached to the bottom plate of the cover plate 150 by means ofscrews with a supporting plate 24 b disposed therebetween in such amanner that the turntable 23 a placed on the spindle motor 24 a slightlyprojects from the table opening 150 g formed in the base plate 27.

The pickup mechanism 25 has an optical block that converges a light beamemitted from a semiconductor laser (not shown) that functions as a lightsource with an objective lens 25 a, irradiates a signal recordingsurface of the disk 2 with the converged light beam so that the lightbeam is reflected by the signal recording surface, and receives the thusreflected light with a photodetector including a light-receiving elementor the like. Thus, the pickup mechanism 25 writes or reads signals onthe disk 2.

The pickup mechanism 25 includes an objective-lens drive mechanism, suchas a two-axis actuator for moving the objective lens 25 a in the opticalaxis direction (focusing direction) and a direction perpendicular torecording tracks of the disk 2 (tracking direction). The pickupmechanism 25 performs drive control operations including a focus servooperation for positioning the focal point of the objective lens 25 a onthe signal-recording surface of the disk 2 and a tracking servooperation for causing the spot of the light beam converged by theobjective lens 25 a to trace the recording track by moving the objectivelens 25 a in the focusing direction and the tracking direction by thetwo-axis actuator on the basis of a detection signal obtained from thedisk 2. The actuator is supported on an actuator cover 25 b. Theobjective-lens drive mechanism may also include a three-axis actuatorthat not only performs the focusing control and the tracking control butalso adjusts the inclination (skew) of the objective lens 25 a withrespect to the signal-recording surface of the disk 2 so that the lightbeam converged by the objective lens 25 a can be incident on thesignal-recording surface of the disk 2 at a right angle.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pickup-moving mechanism 26 includes a pickupbase 29 on which the pickup mechanism 25 is mounted, a pair of guideshafts 30 a and 30 b that support the pickup base 29 such that the pickbase 29 can slide in the radial direction of the disk 2, and apickup-base drive mechanism 31 that moves the pickup base 29 supportedby the guide shafts 30 a and 30 b in the radial direction of the disk 2.

The pickup base 29 includes a pair of guide tabs 32 a and 32 b havingguide holes through which the guide shaft 30 a extends and a guide tab33 having a guide groove in which the guide shaft 30 b is fitted. Theguide tab 33 and the guide tabs 32 a and 32 b project from oppositesides of the pickup base 29. Thus, the pickup base 29 is slidablysupported by the pair of guide shafts 30 a and 30 b.

The guide shafts 30 a and 30 b are arranged parallel to the radialdirection of the disk 2 on the bottom plate of the base plate 27 andguide the pickup base 29 from the inner periphery of the disk 2 to theouter periphery thereof while the pickup base 29 supports the pickupmechanism 25 that faces outside through the pickup opening 150 h formedin the cover plate 150.

The pickup-base drive mechanism 31 includes a drive motor 31 a that isattached to the base plate 27 and converts the rotation of the drivemotor 31 a into a linear movement using a gear and a rack (not shown),thereby moving the pickup base 29 along the guide shafts 30 a and 30 b,that is, in the radial direction of the disk 2.

Next, the cover plate 150 will be described in detail below. As shown inFIGS. 4 and 6, the cover plate 150 has a protruding surface 150 a on theside adjacent to the slot 19, the protruding surface 150 a substantiallyperpendicularly protruding from a cover plate surface 150 f. Theprotruding surface 150 a is formed integrally on the cover plate 150such that the protruding surface 150 a is placed outside thelarge-diameter disk 2A with a diameter of 12 cm when the large-diameterdisk 2A is mounted on the disk mount 23. In addition, the protrudingsurface 150 a is formed so as to cover the actuator cover 25 b of thepickup mechanism 25 from above when the pickup mechanism 25 is moved tothe outer periphery of the large-diameter disk 2A that is, to a positionadjacent to the slot 19, by the pickup-moving mechanism 26. In general,the pickup mechanism 25 is preferably positioned near the slot 19 whenthe disk 2 is inserted. Accordingly, in the known structure, there is arisk that the disk 2 will collide with the objective lens 25 a if thedisk 2 is inserted in an inclined manner. However, in the presentembodiment, since the protruding surface 150 a covers the area near theobjective lens 25 a, the disk 2 is prevented from colliding with theobjective lens 25 a even when the disk 2 is inserted into the slot 19 inan inclined manner. In addition, since the protruding surface 150 a isprovided, the inserted disk 2 can be smoothly guided to flanges 138 and140 of the first and second rotating arms 35 and 36, which will bedescribed below.

A sheet member 151 is adhered to the protruding surface 150 a and aninclined surface 150 b provided between the protruding surface 150 a andthe surface 150 f of the cover plate 150 with an adhesive or the like.The sheet member 151 is made of a material like an artificial leatherthat has a low coefficient of friction and that does not easily damagethe recording surface of the disk 2. Accordingly, even when the disk 2comes into contact with the protruding surface 150 a when the disk 2 isinserted, the recording surface of the disk 2 is prevented from beingdamaged. As shown in FIG. 6, the sheet member 151 has a shapecorresponding to the protruding surface 150 a and the inclined surface150 b positioned between the protruding surface 150 a and the coverplate surface 150 f so as to extend over the protruding surface 150 aand the inclined surface 150 b, and is bent at a portion correspondingto the inclined surface 150 b.

In addition, a plurality of (for example, three) small projections 152are provided in a region between the cover plate surface 150 f and theinclined surface 150 b so as to cover the end face of the sheet member151 that faces the disk insertion direction. The projections 152 areprovided to avoid a situation that the peripheral portion of the disk 2is caught by the end face of the sheet member 151 and it becomesdifficult to eject the disk 2. The projections 152 will be described inmore detail below.

In addition, a recess 150 c that inclines toward the pickup opening 150h is formed along the boundary between the cover plate surface 150 f andthe pickup opening 150 h at a position near the projections 152.Referring to FIG. 3, the recess 150 c is provided to allow the rotatingarm 35 to smoothly move from the pickup opening 150 h onto the coverplate surface 150 f without going under the cover plate 150 when thesmall-diameter disk 2B with a diameter of 8 cm is inserted and the firstand the second rotating arms 35 and 36 are rotated inward while holdingthe small-diameter disk 2B.

In addition, as shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 6, aplurality of (for example, two) groove-shaped drawn portions 150 d areformed in the protruding surface 150 a of the cover plate 150 at aposition below the sheet member 151. The drawn portions 150 d ensure thestrength of the protruding surface 150 a so that the protruding surface150 a can be prevented from being bent even when the disk 2 is insertedthrough the slot 19 in an inclined manner and comes into contact withthe protruding surface 150 a. In addition, the protruding surface 150 ahas a deep drawn portion 150 e that extends to the bottom surface of thebottom case 4 in addition to the drawn portions 150 d. Accordingly, theprotruding surface 150 a can be prevented from being deformed even if alarge load is applied when the disk 2 is inserted.

A cutout 150 j having a predetermine shape may also be formed in thecover plate 150 so that the rotating arm 35 can be prevented frominterfering with the cover plate 150 on the pickup unit 22 when thepickup unit 22 is moved upward by a base-lifting mechanism 55, whichwill be described below.

Next, a disk-conveying mechanism 34 will be described. Referring to FIG.3, the disk drive device 1 includes the disk-conveying mechanism 34 thatconveys the disk 2 between a disk insertion/ejection position to whichthe disk 2 is inserted or ejected through the slot 19 and a diskmounting position at which the disk 2 is mounted on the turntable 23 aof the disk mount 23.

The disk-conveying mechanism 34 includes an arm mechanism 135 thatextends and retracts along a plane substantially parallel to therecording surface of the disk 2 to convey the disk 2 between the slot 19and the disk mount 23 while holding the peripheral portion of the disk 2and a restricting mechanism 120 that restricts the movement of the armmechanism 135 as described below.

The arm mechanism 135 includes the first rotating arm 35 and the secondrotating arm 36 that rotate so as to hold the disk 2 therebetween at theperipheral portion of the disk 2, a third rotating arm 46 that assiststhe insertion of the disk 2, and a fourth rotating arm 49 that assiststhe ejection of the disk 2.

The first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 are made oflong metal plates and are disposed on the left and right sides of thedisk mount 23. Each of the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotatingarm 36 has a base portion positioned closer to the rear side than thedisk mount 23 and supported by a first support shaft 37 provided on thechassis 11 and an end portion positioned closer to the front side thanthe disk mount 23. The first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm36 can rotate in the directions shown by the arrows a1, a2, b1, and b2in FIG. 3 such that the end portions thereof move toward or away fromeach other along a plane substantially parallel to the recording surfaceof the disk 2 inserted through the slot 19.

In the initial state (HOME state) in which the disk 2 is not yetinserted into the slot 19, the first rotating arm 35 and the secondrotating arm 36 are positioned such that the end portions thereof areseparated from each other by a predetermined angle.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first front contact member 38 and the flange 138that restricts the movement of the disk 2 in the height directionthereof are provided on the end portion of the first rotating arm 35that is adjacent to the front side of the bottom case 4, that is, to thefront panel 18. The first front contact member 38 has a pair of rotatingrollers 73 a and 73 b arranged in the front-rear direction.

The angle between the end portions of the first rotating arm 35 and thesecond rotating arm 36 is set such that at least the distance L1 betweenflanges 138 and 140 is smaller than the diameter of the small-diameterdisk 2B, i.e., 8 cm, so that the small-diameter disk 2B can be retainedwhen the small-diameter disk 2B is inserted into the slot 19.Preferably, the angle between the end portions is set such that theminimum distance L2 between a rotating roller 73 a of a first frontcontact member 38 and a rotating roller 73 c of a second front contactmember 40 is smaller than the diameter of the small-diameter disk 2B.

The first rotating arm 35 also has a first rear contact member 39 at aposition near the base portion of the first rotating arm 35 that isadjacent to the rear side of the bottom case 4. The first rear contactmember 39 projects downward and comes into contact with the outerperipheral portion of the disk 2 together with the first front contactmember 38 when the disk 2 is positioned at the disk mounting position.

The first front contact member 38, the flange 138, and the first rearcontact member 39 are made of resin that is softer than the disk 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, a torsion coil spring 71 d is attached to the firstrotating arm 35. The first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm36 are urged toward each other by the torsion coil spring 71 d due to agear portion 71 a of a rotating member 71 and an inner gear 94. As shownin FIG. 3, the rotating member 71 has the gear portion 71 a that extendsover a predetermined section along the periphery of the rotating member71, and the gear portion 71 a meshes with the inner gear 94 disposed onthe chassis 11. Accordingly, the rotating member 71 rotates inassociation with the rotation of the first rotating arm 35.

The second front contact member 40 that comes into contact with theouter peripheral portion of the disk 2 inserted through the slot 19 andthe flange 140 that restricts the movement of the disk 2 in the heightdirection thereof are provided on the end portion of the second rotatingarm 36. The second front contact member 40 has rotating rollers 73 c and73 d. The second front contact member 40 and the flange 140 are alsomade of resin that is softer than the disk 2.

The first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 are disposed atasymmetric positions with respect to the turntable 23 a of the diskmount 23, and the rotational centers of the first rotating arm 35 andthe second rotating arm 36 are on the same point that is closer to therear side than the disk mount 23 in a substantially central section. Inaddition, the end portions of the first rotating arm 35 and the secondrotating arm 36 are slidably supported while being engaged with theguide groove 9 formed in the top plate 5 a.

The first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 are rotated inthe opposite directions by a link mechanism 41.

More specifically, the link mechanism 41 includes a first link arm 42and a second link arm 43 that connect the first rotating arm 35 and thesecond rotating arm 36 to each other. The first link arm 42 and thesecond link arm 43 are made of long metal plates, and are connected tothe base portion of the first rotating arm 35 and the base portion ofthe second rotating arm 36, respectively, at one longitudinal endthereof. In addition, the first link arm 42 and the second link arm 43are connected to each other by a second support shaft 44 at the otherlongitudinal end, and accordingly a so-called pantograph structure isprovided. The second support shaft 44 is engaged with a guide slit 45that is positioned closer to the front side than the first support shaft37 on the chassis 11 and that extends linearly in the insertiondirection of the disk 2.

The first support shaft 37 has a first torsion coil spring 75 that urgesthe first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 toward eachother. The first torsion coil spring 75 is attached to the base portionof the first rotating arm 35 at one end and to the base portion of thesecond rotating arm 36 at the other end while the first support shaft 37extends through the winding portion of the first torsion coil spring 75.

Accordingly, when the second support shaft 44 slides along the guideslit 45, the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 arerotated by the first link arm 42 and the second link arm 43 in theopposite directions. Thus, the link mechanism 41 can cause the endportion of the first rotating arm 35 and the end portion of the secondrotating arm 36 to swing toward and away from each other.

The third rotating arm 46 rotates in a plane substantially parallel tothe recording surface of the disk 2 inserted through the slot 19 inorder to assist a load operation for pulling the disk 2 into the housing3 through the slot 19. The third rotating arm 46 is made of a long metalplate and is placed on the left or right of the turntable 23 a of thedisk mount 23 (on the left in FIG. 3) at a position closer to the frontside than the second rotating arm 36. The third rotating arm 46 isrotatably supported by a support shaft 47 provided on the wing portion 4a such that the third rotating arm 46 can rotate in the directions shownby the arrows c1 and c2.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating the disk drive device 1 from whichcomponents including the first and second rotating arms 35 and 36 andthe cover plate 150 are removed. The third rotating arm 46 has asubstantially L-shaped shaft hole 46 a shown in FIG. 7 through which thesupport shaft 47 extends, a cam pin 46 b that engages with a cam groove80 formed in the top plate of the drive lever 52 shown in FIGS. 10A to10D, and a third contact member 48 disposed at an end of the thirdrotating arm 46.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the third rotating arm 46 is urged by atorsion coil spring 79 disposed on the wing portion 4 a. The torsioncoil spring 79 is attached to a retaining pin 79 a provided on the wingportion 4 a at one end thereof and to a retaining pin 79 b provided onthe bottom surface of the third rotating arm 46 at the other endthereof.

The cam pin 46 b moves in the cam groove 80 formed in the drive lever 52shown in FIG. 5 in association with the sliding movement of the drivelever 52, and accordingly the third rotating arm 46 is rotated. Therotational center of the third rotating arm 46 can be changed dependingon the position of the support shaft 47 in the shaft hole 46 a.

The third contact member 48 projects upward from the third rotating arm46 at the end thereof so as to come into contact with the outerperipheral portion of the large-diameter disk 2A that is insertedthrough the slot 19. The third contact member 48 is a rotating rollerwith a small diameter that is rotatably attached to a principal surfaceof the third rotating arm 46 that faces the top plate 5 a, and is madeof resin that is softer than the disk 2.

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating the disk drive device 1 from whichsome more components are removed. FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating thepositional relationship between the drive lever 52 and detectionswitches included in the disk drive device.

The arm mechanism 135 includes the drive lever 52 for driving therotating arms 35, 36, 46, and 49, etc., in association with each other.The drive lever 52 is made of a substantially prismatic resin body andis disposed between one side of the bottom case 4 and the pickup unit 22on the bottom plate of the bottom case 4. In addition, the drive lever52 is positioned below the disk 2 inserted into the housing 3 throughthe slot 19, and the top surface of the drive lever 52 is atsubstantially the same height as the bottom surface of the wing portion4 a.

FIG. 10A is a side view of the drive lever 52 viewed from one side, FIG.10B is a top plan view of the drive lever 52, FIG. 10C is a side view ofthe drive lever 52 viewed from the other side, and FIG. 10D is a bottomplan view of the drive lever 52.

As shown in FIG. 10C, the drive lever 52 has a first cam slit 95 formoving the pickup unit 22 vertically in the side that faces the baseplate 27. The first cam slit 95 includes a first horizontal portion 95 afor positioning the base plate 27 at the releasing position, a topportion 95 b for positioning the base plate 27 at the chucking position,and a second horizontal portion 95 c for positioning the base plate 27at an intermediate position. As shown in FIG. 10D, the drive lever 52has a guide slit 100 in the bottom side thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 12A, 12B, 13A, and 13B, a rack member 101 that canslide with respect to the drive lever 52 in the front-rear direction bya predetermined stroke is attached to the drive lever 52 at an endadjacent to the front side. The rack member 101 has a rack gear 101 athat extends in the front-rear direction. In addition, as shown in FIG.8, a drive mechanism including a drive motor 102, a worm gear 103attached to a rotating shaft of the drive motor 102, and a gear train104 that transmits the power of the drive motor 102 from the worm gear103 to the rack gear 101 a is disposed on the bottom plate of the bottomcase 4.

Accordingly, the drive mechanism rotates the drive motor 102 in onedirection to move the drive lever 52 and the rack member 101 togethertoward the rear side using the worm gear 103, the gear train 104, andthe rack gear 101 a while the rack member 101 is disposed such that therack member 101 does not project from the drive lever 52, as shown inFIGS. 12A and 12B. In addition, the drive mechanism rotates the drivemotor 102 in the other direction to move the drive lever 52 and the rackmember 101 together toward the front side using the worm gear 103, thegear train 104, and the rack gear 101 a while the rack member 101projects frontward from the drive lever 52, as shown in FIGS. 13A and13B.

The fourth rotating arm 49 is made of a long metal plate and is placedon the left or right of the turntable 23 a of the disk mount 23 (on theleft in FIG. 3). The fourth rotating arm 49 is rotatably supported at anintermediate position along the second rotating arm 36 such that thefourth rotating arm 49 can rotate in the directions shown by the arrowsd1 and d2 in a plane substantially parallel to the recording surface ofthe disk 2 to assist the eject operation. The fourth rotating arm 49 hasa fourth contact member 50 that projects upward at an end of the fourthrotating arm 49 and that comes into contact with a rear peripheralportion of the disk 2. The fourth contact member 50 is made of resinthat is softer than the disk 2, and is a rotating roller with a smalldiameter that is rotatably attached to a principal surface of the fourthrotating arm 49 that faces the top plate 5 a.

In addition, the second rotating arm 36 has a restricting tab (notshown) that restricts the rearward rotation of the fourth rotating arm49 when the fourth rotating arm 49 rotates rearward, that is, in thedirection shown by the arrow d1. The restricting tab is formed by, forexample, bending an edge of the second rotating arm 36 in a bracketshape.

The fourth rotating arm 49 is rotated by a connecting mechanism 81 shownin FIG. 3 in association with the sliding movement of the drive lever 52shown in FIG. 7.

More specifically, the connecting mechanism 81 has a crank mechanismincluding a crank arm 82 a that is rotatably supported by the firstsupport shaft 37 and a connection arm 82 b that connects the crank arm82 a to the fourth rotating arm 49. The connection arm 82 b has a longhole 83 b in which a guide pin 83 a provided on the second rotating arm36 is inserted. Accordingly, the crank mechanism rotates the crank arm82 a in association with the rotation of the fourth rotating arm 49.

As shown in FIG. 8, the connecting mechanism 81 also includes a firstgear 84 that is rotated by the above-mentioned crank arm 82 a, a secondgear 85 that meshes with the first gear 84, and a rotating operationmember 87 having a third gear 86 that meshes with the second gear 85 onthe bottom plate of the bottom case 4.

The rotating operation member 87 serves to rotate the fourth rotatingarm 49 in association with the sliding movement of the drive lever 52.The rotating operation member 87 includes an engagement pin 88 thatengages with a slide member 92 that can slide in the front-reardirection with respect to the drive lever 52 and a positioning pin 89for positioning and fixing the drive lever 52 by coming into contactwith the rear side of the drive lever 52 in the recording/reproducingoperation.

The rotating operation member 87 is urged in one rotational direction(clockwise in FIG. 8 in this case) by an extension spring 90. Theextension spring 90 is attached to a retaining pin 90 a provided on thebottom plate of the bottom case 4 at one end thereof and to a retainingpin 90 b provided on the rotating operation member 87 at the other endthereof. Accordingly, the rotating operation member 87 is urged in onerotational direction. The rotating operation member 87 has asubstantially arc shaped slit 91 for receiving the retaining pin 90 a.

The slide member 92 that can slide in the front-rear direction withrespect to the drive lever 52 is attached to the rear side of the drivelever 52. The slide member 92 is urged frontward by first and secondextension springs 93 a and 93 b, and is engaged with the engagement pin88 of the rotating operation member 87 at the rear end thereof.Accordingly, the slide member 92 rotates the rotating operation member87 in association with the sliding operation of the drive lever 52.

The first and the second extension springs 93 a and 93 b are attached tothe drive lever 52 at the front end thereof and are attached to theslide member 92 at the rear end thereof, thereby urging the slide member92 frontward with respect to the drive lever 52. The first extensionspring 93 a moves the drive lever 52 and the slide member 92 together ina normal operation and exerts a spring force of about 200 gf to 300 gf.The second extension spring 93 b is used to protect the mechanism whenthe disk 2 is not ejected normally, and exerts a spring force of about400 gf to 600 gf.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, a circuit board 105 on which a drivecontrol circuit for controlling the components is mounted is provided onthe bottom plate of the bottom case 4. The circuit board 105 is attachedto the bottom plate of the bottom case 4 with screws at a positionadjacent to the rear side. Electronic components (not shown), such as anIC chip, that form the drive control circuit, a connector 106 forproviding electrical connections, and detection switches SW1, SW2, SW3,and SW4 for detecting various movements are arranged on the bottom plateof the bottom case 4 and the circuit board 105.

The drive control circuit controls the drive mechanism for driving thedrive lever 52 while detecting the position of the drive lever 52 on thebasis of detection signals obtained by the detection switches SW1, SW2,SW3, and SW4.

The detection switch SW1 is positioned adjacent to the front edge of thebottom case 4, and is switched on and off by the front end of the drivelever 52. The detection switches SW2, SW3, and SW4 are arranged alongthe front-rear direction with predetermined intervals therebetween alonga side edge of the circuit board 105 that faces the drive lever 52. Thedetection switches SW2, SW3, and SW4 are switched on and off by a camportion 107 provided on a side surface of the drive lever 52 as shown inFIGS. 10B and 10C.

The restricting mechanism 120 is used for restricting the movement ofthe arm mechanism 135 when the disk 2 is ejected through the slot 19. Asshown in FIG. 3, the restricting mechanism 120 includes a pushing lever76, a stopper 110 that engages with the pushing lever 76 when the disk 2is ejected, and a second torsion coil spring 77 that presses the pushinglever 76. The stopper 110 is provided on, for example, the secondrotating arm 36 and has a step-like portion that comes into contact witha contact pin 76 a when the disk 2 is ejected through the slot 19. Thestopper 110 has a contact surface that faces and comes into contact withthe contact pin 76 a in the rotational direction of the pushing lever76.

As shown in FIG. 7, the second torsion coil spring 77 is attached to thechassis 11 at one end and to a contact pin 76 c of the pushing lever 76at the other end while a winding portion of the second torsion coilspring 77 is supported by the chassis 11. Accordingly, the contact pin76 a is urged in a direction such that the contact pin 76 a comes intocontact with the stopper 110. The contact pin 76 c is rotatable aroundthe point P shown in FIG. 7. A pushing force applied to the disk 2 bythe arm mechanism 135 when the contact pin 76 a engages with the stopper110 in the ejection operation of the disk 2 is set to be smaller thanthe frictional force applied to the disk 2 at the slot 19. The firsttorsion coil spring 75, for example, applies a rotating force to thefirst rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 such that theengagement between the contact pin 76 a of the pushing lever 76 and thestopper 110 is canceled when the disk 2 is pulled out from the slot 19.

Accordingly, in the restricting mechanism 120, the cam pin 76 b on thepushing lever 76 slides along a cam groove 78 formed in the drive lever52 in association with the rearward sliding movement of the drive lever52, and the pushing lever 76 rotates against the urging force applied bythe second torsion coil spring 77 when the drive lever 52 reaches therear end. Thus, the state in which the pushing lever 76 presses thesecond rotating arm 36 to urge the first rotating arm 35 and the secondrotating arm 36 toward each other is switched to the state in which thefirst rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 are not urgedtoward each other.

The arm mechanism 135 performs a load operation for pulling the disk 2into the housing 3 through the slot 19, a centering operation forpositioning the disk 2 at the disk mounting position, and an ejectoperation for ejecting the disk 2 from the housing 3 through the slot 19by causing the first rotating arm 35, the second rotating arm 36, thethird rotating arm 46, and the fourth rotating arm 49 to operate incorporation with each other.

As shown in FIG. 3, the disk drive device 1 includes a base-liftingmechanism 55 that moves the base plate 27 vertically in association withthe sliding movement of the drive lever 52.

The base-lifting mechanism 55 moves the base plate 27 upward to achucking position shown in FIG. 15 where the disk 2 positioned at thedisk mounting position is placed on the turntable 23 a of the disk mount23, downward to a releasing position shown in FIG. 14 where the disk 2is released from the turntable 23 a of the disk mount 23, and to anintermediate position between the chucking position and the releasingposition shown in FIG. 16 where signals are recorded on or reproducedfrom the disk 2. The cover plate 150 is not shown in FIGS. 14 to 16.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 10C, the drive lever 52 has thefirst cam slit 95 having portions corresponding to the chuckingposition, the releasing position, and the intermediate position and thatextends in the longitudinal direction of the drive lever 52 in the sidethat faces the base plate 27.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the cam lever 56 that extends along therear side of the base plate 27 is arranged on the bottom plate of thebottom case 4. As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the cam lever 56 is madeof a long, flat plate member and slides in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the sliding direction of the drive lever 52 as thedrive lever 52 slides in the front-rear direction. The cam lever 56 hasa cam tab 57 that is bent upward along the side of the cam lever 56 thatfaces the base plate 27 at an intermediate position thereof. As shown inFIG. 7, a horizontal portion 57 a of the cam tab 57 has a first camportion 74 a that corresponds to the large-diameter disk 2A with adiameter of 12 cm and a second cam portion 74 b that corresponds to thesmall-diameter disk 2B and that is formed as a slit-shaped cutout at aposition closer to the front side than the first cam portion 74 a. Asshown in FIG. 11B, the cam tab 57 has a second cam slit 96 that includesportions corresponding to the chucking position, the releasing position,and the intermediate position and that extends in the longitudinaldirection of the cam tab 57.

The second cam slit 96 includes a first horizontal portion 96 a forpositioning the base plate 27 at the releasing position, a top portion96 b for positioning the base plate 27 at the chucking position, and asecond horizontal portion 96 c for positioning the base plate 27 at theintermediate position.

The cam lever 56 has a pair of guide slits 97 a and 97 b that arealigned with each other in the principal plane of the cam lever 56, anda pair of headed guide pins 98 a and 98 b that project from the bottomplate of the bottom case 4 are engaged with the guide slits 97 a and 97b, respectively, as shown in FIG. 8. Accordingly, the cam lever 56 issupported such that the cam lever 56 can slide in the directionsubstantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the drive lever52, that is, in the left-right direction along the rear side of the baseplate 27.

The cam lever 56 has a guide pin 99 shown in FIG. 8 that projects upwardat the intersecting point of the cam lever 56 and the drive lever 52. Asshown in FIG. 8, the guide pin 99 slides along the guide slit 100 inassociation with the sliding movement of the drive lever 52 in thefront-rear direction, and accordingly the cam lever 56 slides in thedirection perpendicular to the sliding direction of the drive lever 52.

In the link mechanism 41, the second support shaft 44 becomes engagedwith the first cam portion 74 a or the second cam portion 74 b dependingon the positional relationship between the first rotating arm 35 and thesecond rotating arm 36 that differs between the case in which thelarge-diameter disk 2A is inserted into the housing 3 through the slot19 and the case in which the small-diameter disk 2B is inserted into thehousing 3 through the slot 19.

More specifically, when the large-diameter disk 2A is inserted, thesecond support shaft 44 becomes engaged with the first cam portion 74 aand slides along the guide slit 45 in association with the slidingmovement of the cam lever 56 in the left-right direction. Accordingly,the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 are rotatedtoward or away from each other in accordance with the outer diameter ofthe large-diameter disk 2A.

When the small-diameter disk 2B is inserted, the second support shaft 44becomes engaged with the second cam portion 74 b and slides along theguide slit 45 in association with the sliding movement of the cam lever56 in the left-right direction. Accordingly, the first rotating arm 35and the second rotating arm 36 are rotated toward or away from eachother in accordance with the outer diameter of the small-diameter disk2B.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, a bent member 58 that is bent along therear side of the base plate 27 is provided on the bottom plate of thebottom case 4. The bent member 58 has a vertical slit (not shown) formoving the base plate 27 vertically.

The first support shaft 59 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 that is formed on thebase plate 27 is supported by being engaged the first cam slit 95 formedin the drive lever 52 shown in FIG. 10C. The second support shaft 60 issupported by being engaged with the second cam slit 96 formed in the camtab 57 and the vertical slit formed in the bent member 58. The thirdsupport shaft 62 is rotatably supported by a shaft hole 61 formed in aside plate of the bottom case 4. The fixing support portion 65 is fixedand supported on the bottom plate of the bottom case 4 with a screw 64with an insulator 63 formed of a viscoelastic member, such as rubber,interposed between the fixing support portion 65 and the bottom plate ofthe bottom case 4.

Accordingly, in the base-lifting mechanism 55, the first support shaft59 slides in the first cam slit 95 formed in the drive lever 52 and thesecond support shaft 60 slides in the second cam slit 96 formed in thecam lever 56 and the vertical slit formed in the bent member 58 inassociation with the sliding movements of the drive lever 52 and the camlever 56. Thus, a section of the base plate 27 in which the disk mount23 is mounted moves vertically with respect to a section of the baseplate 27 adjacent to the front side between the chucking position, thereleasing position, and the intermediate position.

Referring to FIG. 3, a push-up pin 66 for removing the disk 2 mounted onthe turntable 23 a of the disk mount 23 from the turntable 23 a when thebase plate 27 is moved downward by the base-lifting mechanism 55 isprovided on the bottom plate of the bottom case 4. The push-up pin 66projects upward from the bottom plate of the bottom case 4 at a positionnear the disk mount 23 of the pickup unit 22, more specifically, at aposition closest to the disk mount 23 along the rear side of the baseplate 27.

Next, the operation of the disk drive device 1 having theabove-described structure will be described below. First, thedisk-conveying operation performed by the arm mechanism 135 when thedisk 2 is inserted will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 17, in the initial state (HOME state) in which the disk2 is not yet inserted, the end portions of the first rotating arm 35 andthe second rotating arm 36 are separated from each other by apredetermined angle in the disk drive device 1. More specifically, asshown in FIG. 3, the minimum distance L2 between the rotating roller 73a of the first front contact member 38 and the rotating roller 73 c ofthe second front contact member 40 is smaller than the diameter of asmall-diameter disk 2B.

In the HOME state, the third rotating arm 46 is positioned such that thefront end thereof is farther away from the center in the left-rightdirection and closer to the front side than the base end thereof, andthe fourth rotating arm 49 is positioned in the front section of thebottom case 4 such that the front end thereof is closer to the center inthe left-right direction and closer to the front side than the base endthereof.

The disk drive device 1 can perform the load operation irrespective ofwhether the large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B isinserted into the housing 3 through the slot 19.

More specifically, when the large-diameter disk 2A is inserted into thehousing 3 through the slot 19, a rear peripheral portion of thelarge-diameter disk 2A that is inserted into the housing 3 through theslot 19 comes into contact with the first front contact member 38 of thefirst rotating arm 35 and the second front contact member 40 of thesecond rotating arm 36, as shown in FIG. 17.

Then, when the large-diameter disk 2A inserted through the slot 19 ispushed further into the housing 3, as shown in FIG. 18, thelarge-diameter disk 2A is held between the first front contact member 38and the second front contact member 40 of the first rotating arm 35 andthe second rotating arm 36, respectively, at the outer peripheralportion thereof. At this time, the first rotating arm 35 and the secondrotating arm 36 are rotated away from each other, that is, in thedirections shown by the arrows a2 and b2 in FIG. 18, against the urgingforces applied by the torsion coil spring 71 d and the second torsioncoil spring 77 while the first front contact member 38 and the secondfront contact member 40 are in contact with the rear peripheral portionof the large-diameter disk 2A.

Then, when the third rotating arm 46 is rotated by a predeterminedamount and reaches the position shown in FIG. 18, the detection switchSW2 provided on the circuit board 105 is pressed, which causes the drivemechanism to start sliding the drive lever 52 rearward.

Accordingly, the third rotating arm 46 is further rotated in thedirection shown by the arrow c1 in FIG. 18. In addition, the thirdcontact member 48 of the third rotating arm 46 comes into contact with afront peripheral portion of the large-diameter disk 2A and pushes thefront peripheral portion of the large-diameter disk 2A so as to move thelarge-diameter disk 2A into the housing 3.

Then, when the large-diameter disk 2A moved into the housing 3 reaches aposition where the center hole 2 a of the large-diameter disk 2A iscloser to the rear side than the line connecting the first front contactmember 38 and the second front contact member 40, as shown in FIG. 19,the first front contact member 38 and the second front contact member 40move from the rear peripheral portion of the large-diameter disk 2A tothe front peripheral portion thereof. Accordingly, the first rotatingarm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 are rotated toward each other,that is, in the directions shown by the arrows a1 and b1 in FIG. 20, bythe urging forces applied by the torsion coil spring 71 d and the secondtorsion coil spring 77 while the first front contact member 38 and thesecond front contact member 40 are in contact with the front peripheralportion of the large-diameter disk 2A.

In addition, the fourth contact member 50 of the fourth rotating arm 49is pushed by the rear peripheral portion of the large-diameter disk 2Aand accordingly the fourth rotating arm 49 is rotated in the directionshown by the arrow d1 in FIG. 20. Then, when the large-diameter disk 2Areaches the disk mounting position shown in FIG. 20, the fourth rotatingarm 49 comes into contact with the restricting tab (not shown) of thesecond rotating arm 36 and the rotation of the fourth rotating arm 49 isrestricted.

Accordingly, the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36convey the large-diameter disk 2A inward to the disk mounting positionshown in FIG. 20 while pushing the front peripheral portion of thelarge-diameter disk 2A.

When the small-diameter disk 2B is inserted into the housing 3 throughthe slot 19, a rear peripheral portion of the small-diameter disk 2Bthat is inserted into the housing 3 through the slot 19 comes intocontact with the first front contact member 38 of the first rotating arm35 and the second front contact member 40 of the second rotating arm 36,as shown in FIG. 24.

Then, when the small-diameter disk 2B inserted through the slot 19 ispushed further into the housing 3, as shown in FIG. 25, thesmall-diameter disk 2B is held between the first front contact member 38and the second front contact member 40 of the first rotating arm 35 andthe second rotating arm 36, respectively, at the outer peripheralportion thereof. At this time, the first rotating arm 35 and the secondrotating arm 36 are rotated away from each other, that is, in thedirections shown by the arrows a2 and b2 in FIG. 25, against the urgingforces applied by the torsion coil spring 71 d and the second torsioncoil spring 77 while the first front contact member 38 and the secondfront contact member 40 are in contact with the rear peripheral portionof the small-diameter disk 2B.

Then, when the fourth rotating arm 49 is rotated by a predeterminedamount and reaches the position shown in FIG. 25, the detection switchSW2 provided on the circuit board 105 is pressed, which causes the drivemechanism to start sliding the drive lever 52 rearward.

Accordingly, the third rotating arm 46 is rotated in the direction shownby the arrow c1 in FIG. 25. The third contact member 48 of the thirdrotating arm 46 comes into contact with a front peripheral portion ofthe small-diameter disk 2B and pushes the front peripheral portion ofthe small-diameter disk 2B so as to move the small-diameter disk 2B intothe housing 3 through the slot 19.

Then, when the small-diameter disk 2B moved into the housing 3 reaches aposition where the center hole 2 a of the small-diameter disk 2B iscloser to the rear side than the line connecting the first front contactmember 38 and the second front contact member 40, as shown in FIG. 26,the first front contact member 38 and the second front contact member 40move from the rear peripheral portion of the small-diameter disk 2B tothe front peripheral portion thereof. Accordingly, the first rotatingarm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 are rotated toward each other,that is, in the directions shown by the arrows a1 and b1 in FIG. 27, bythe urging forces applied by the torsion coil spring 71 d and the secondtorsion coil spring 77 while the first front contact member 38 and thesecond front contact member 40 are in contact with the front peripheralportion of the small-diameter disk 2B.

In addition, the fourth contact member 50 of the fourth rotating arm 49is pushed by the rear peripheral portion of the small-diameter disk 2Band accordingly the fourth rotating arm 49 is rotated in the directionshown by the arrow d1 in FIG. 27. Then, when the small-diameter disk 2Breaches the disk mounting position shown in FIG. 28, the fourth rotatingarm 49 comes into contact with the restricting tab (not shown) of thesecond rotating arm 36 and the rotation of the fourth rotating arm 49 isrestricted.

Accordingly, the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36convey the small-diameter disk 2B inward to the disk mounting position(chucking position) shown in FIG. 28 while pushing the front peripheralportion of the small-diameter disk 2B.

Next, the centering operation and chucking operation of the disk 2 willbe described below. As shown in FIGS. 20 and 28, after one of thelarge-diameter disk 2A and the small-diameter disk 2B having differentdiameters is conveyed to the disk mounting position by the firstrotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36, the disk drive device 1performs the centering operation for positioning the large-diameter disk2A or the small-diameter disk 2B at the disk mounting position byholding the disk 2A or 2B with the first front contact member 38, thefirst rear contact member 39, the second front contact member 40, andthe fourth contact member 50. More specifically, the center hole 2 a ofthe large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B and theengaging projection 28 a of the turntable 23 a are aligned with eachother in the direction perpendicular to recording surface of thelarge-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B.

Next, after the centering operation of the large-diameter disk 2A or thesmall-diameter disk 2B, the disk drive device 1 performs the chuckingoperation for placing the large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameterdisk 2B positioned at the disk mounting position onto the turntable 23 aof the disk mount 23 by causing the base-lifting mechanism 55 to movethe moving the base plate 27 upward.

More specifically, when the base-lifting mechanism 55 moves the baseplate 27 upward from the releasing position shown in FIG. 14 to thechucking position shown in FIG. 15, the engaging projection 28 a entersthe center hole 2 a of the large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameterdisk 2B positioned at the disk mounting position. In addition, theperipheral portion around the center hole 2 a of the large-diameter disk2A or the small-diameter disk 2B is pushed against the contactprojection 7 provided on the top plate 5 a. Accordingly, thelarge-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B is placed on theturntable 23 a such that the engaging projection 28 a is engaged withthe center hole 2 a of the large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameterdisk 2B and the peripheral portion around the center hole 2 a of thelarge-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B is retained by theretaining lugs 28 b. Then, while the large-diameter disk 2A or thesmall-diameter disk 2B is placed on the turntable 23 a, the base plate27 is moved downward by the base-lifting mechanism 55 to theintermediate position shown in FIG. 16.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 29, after the chucking operation, the diskdrive device 1 is operated such that the first rotating arm 35 and thesecond rotating arm 36 are rotated away from each other, that is, in thedirections shown by the arrows a2 and b2 in FIGS. 21 and 29, inassociation with the rearward sliding movement of the drive lever 52. Atthis time, the fourth rotating arm 49 is rotated together with thesecond rotating arm 36 while being in contact with the restricting tab(not shown). In addition, the third rotating arm 46 is slightly rotatedin the direction shown by the arrow c2 in FIGS. 21 and 29 in associationwith the rearward movement of the drive lever 52.

Accordingly, the first front contact member 38, the first rear contactmember 39, the second front contact member 40, the third contact member48, and the fourth contact member 50 are separated from the outerperipheral portion of the large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameterdisk 2B placed on the turntable 23 a.

In the disk drive device 1, when a recording or reproducing command istransmitted from the drive control circuit in the state shown in FIG. 21or 29, signals are recorded on or reproduced from the large-diameterdisk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B on the basis of this command. Morespecifically, the spindle motor 24 a rotates the large-diameter disk 2Aor the small-diameter disk 2B together with the turntable 23 a and thepickup-moving mechanism 26 moves the pickup mechanism 25 from the outerperiphery toward the inner periphery. Then, under the focus servocontrol and the tracking servo control, TOC data recorded in a read-inarea of the large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B is readout. Then, when the signals are recorded, the pickup mechanism 25 ismoved to a designated address in a program area of the large-diameterdisk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B on the basis of the obtained TOCdata. When the signals are reproduced, the pickup mechanism 25 is movedto an address in the program area at which the designated data isrecorded. Then, the pickup mechanism 25 performs an operation of writingor reading signals on the large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameterdisk 2B at a desired recording track.

Next, the releasing operation and the conveying operation performed whenthe disk 2 is ejected will be described below. In the disk drive device1, when the eject button 21 provided on the display element 20 ispressed or an eject command is transmitted to the disk drive device 1from a personal computer, first, the drive mechanism starts sliding thedrive lever 52 frontward.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 28, the first rotating arm 35 and thesecond rotating arm 36 are slightly rotated toward each other, that is,in the directions shown by the arrows a1 and b1 in FIGS. 20 and 28, inassociation with the frontward sliding movement of the drive lever 52.At this time, the fourth rotating arm 49 is rotated together with thesecond rotating arm 36 while being in contact with the restricting tab.

Accordingly, the first front contact member 38, the first rear contactmember 39, the second front contact member 40, and the fourth contactmember 50 come into contact with the outer peripheral portion of thelarge-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B placed on theturntable 23 a.

Next, the disk drive device 1 performs a releasing operation forseparating the large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B fromthe turntable 23 a of the disk-mount 23 by causing the base-liftingmechanism 55 to move the base plate 27 downward to the releasingposition.

More specifically, when the base plate 27 is moved downward to thereleasing position, the end portion of the push-up pin 66 comes intocontact with the large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2Bplaced on the turntable 23 a at an inner peripheral region outside thesignal-recording region. Accordingly, the large-diameter disk 2A or thesmall-diameter disk 2B is pushed upward and released from the turntable23 a.

Next, the disk drive device 1 performs the eject operation for ejectingthe large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B on the diskmount 23 from the housing 3 through the slot 19.

When the large-diameter disk 2A is ejected from the housing 3 throughthe slot 19, first, as shown in FIG. 22, the fourth rotating arm 49 isrotated in the direction shown by the arrow d2 in FIG. 22 in associationwith the frontward sliding movement of the drive lever 52. Since thefourth contact member 50 of the fourth rotating arm 49 comes intocontact with the rear peripheral portion of the large-diameter disk 2A,the fourth rotating arm 49 pushes the rear peripheral portion of thelarge-diameter disk 2A to eject the large-diameter disk 2A from thehousing 3.

Then, when the large-diameter disk 2A is further moved toward theoutside of the housing 3 and reaches a position where the center hole 2a of the large-diameter disk 2A is closer to the front side than theline connecting the first front contact member 38 and the second frontcontact member 40, as shown in FIG. 23, the first front contact member38 and the second front contact member 40 move to the rear peripheralportion of the large-diameter disk 2A from the front peripheral portionthereof. Accordingly, the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotatingarm 36 are rotated toward each other, that is, in the directions shownby the arrows a1 and b1 in FIG. 23, by the urging forces applied by thetorsion coil spring 71 d and the second torsion coil spring 77 while thefirst front contact member 38 and the second front contact member 40 arein contact with the rear peripheral portion of the large-diameter disk2A.

When the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 movetoward each other while the large-diameter disk 2A is being ejected, thecontact pin 76 a of the pushing lever 76 moves from the position shownin FIG. 22 in the direction shown by the arrow e1 and becomes engagedwith the step portion of the stopper 110, as shown in FIG. 23.Accordingly, the pushing force applied to the stopper 110 from thecontact pin 76 a is not transmitted and a torque that tries to move thefirst rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 toward each otheris considerably reduced compared to the case in which the stopper 110 isnot provided.

The force by which the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm36 try to push the large-diameter disk 2A outward is sufficiently weakerthan the frictional force between the large-diameter disk 2A and thecurtain 32. Accordingly, the first rotating arm 35 and the secondrotating arm 36 push the rear peripheral portion of the large-diameterdisk 2A to convey the large-diameter disk 2A to the diskinsertion/ejection position, that is, the position at which the centerhole 2 a of the large-diameter disk 2A is exposed to the outside of thehousing 3 through the slot 19.

When the user removes the large-diameter disk 2A from the slot 19, theforce that restricts the rotation of the first rotating arm 35 and thesecond rotating arm 36 is eliminated. Accordingly, the first rotatingarm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 are moved toward each other to theHOME positions thereof by the urging force applied by the torsion coilspring 71 d and second torsion coil spring 77. Thus, the eject operationis completed.

When the small-diameter disk 2B is ejected from the housing 3 throughthe slot 19, first, as shown in FIG. 30, the fourth rotating arm 49 isrotated in the direction shown by the arrow d2 in FIG. 28 in associationwith the frontward movement of the drive lever 52. Since the fourthcontact member 50 of the fourth rotating arm 49 is in contact with therear peripheral portion of the small-diameter disk 2B, the fourthrotating arm 49 pushes the rear peripheral portion of the small-diameterdisk 2B to eject the small-diameter disk 2B from the housing 3.

Then, when the small-diameter disk 2B is further moved toward theoutside of the housing 3 and reaches a position where the center hole 2a of the small-diameter disk 2B is closer to the front side than theline connecting the first front contact member 38 and the second frontcontact member 40, as shown in FIG. 25, the first front contact member38 and the second front contact member 40 move to the rear peripheralportion of the small-diameter disk 2B from the front peripheral portionthereof. Accordingly, the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotatingarm 36 are rotated toward each other, that is, in the directions shownby the arrows a1 and b1 in FIG. 25, by the urging forces applied by thetorsion coil spring 71 d and the second torsion coil spring 77 while thefirst front contact member 38 and the second front contact member 40 arein contact with the rear peripheral portion of the small-diameter disk2B.

Accordingly, the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36push the rear peripheral portion of the small-diameter disk 2B until thesmall-diameter disk 2B reaches the disk insertion/ejection position.Similar to the large-diameter disk 2A, the disk insertion/ejectionposition of the small-diameter disk 2B is set to a position where thecenter hole 2 a of the small-diameter disk 2B is placed outside the slot19.

Although the curtain 32 is used to apply the frictional load to thelarge-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B, other frictionmembers may also be provided at a position near the slot 19.

As described above, the disk-conveying mechanism 34 included in the diskdrive device 1 according to the present embodiment has the restrictingmechanism 120 that restricts the movement of the arm mechanism 135.Therefore, the movement of the arm mechanism 135 can be restricted when,for example, the large-diameter disk 2A is ejected through the slot 19,and accordingly the pushing force applied to the large-diameter disk 2Aby the arm mechanism 135 can be adjusted (reduced). Thus, the distanceby which the large-diameter disk 2A is pushed out from the slot 19 canbe adjusted. When, for example, the distance by which the large-diameterdisk 2A is pushed out from the slot 19 is set to substantially one-halfof the diameter of the large-diameter disk 2A, the large-diameter disk2A can be easily removed from the slot 19 and the large-diameter disk 2Acan be prevented from falling from the slot 19. In particular, if theadjustment is such that the eject operation is finished when the centerhole 2 a of the large-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B iscompletely out of the slot 19, the user can easily remove thelarge-diameter disk 2A or the small-diameter disk 2B from the slot 19.

The arm mechanism 135 includes the first rotating arm 35 and the secondrotating arm 36 provided such that the first rotating arm 35 and thesecond rotating arm 36 can rotate so as to hold the large-diameter disk2A at the peripheral portion thereof and the pushing lever 76 thatpushes the first rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 towardeach other. In addition, the restraining mechanism 120 includes thestopper 110 that engages with the pushing lever 76 when thelarge-diameter disk 2A is ejected. Therefore, when the pushing lever 76engages with the stopper 110 in the process of ejecting thelarge-diameter disk 2A, the pushing force applied to the large-diameterdisk 2A by the second rotating arm 36 that is pushed by the pushinglever 76 is reduced. Thus, the distance by which the large-diameter disk2A is pushed out from the slot 19 can be adjusted.

In addition, the pushing force applied to the large-diameter disk 2A bythe arm mechanism 135 when the movement of the arm mechanism 135 isrestricted by the restraining mechanism 120 is smaller than thefrictional force applied to the large-diameter disk 2A from the slot 19(from the curtain 32 on the slot 19). Accordingly, when the movement ofthe arm mechanism 135 is restricted by the restraining mechanism 120,the large-diameter disk 2A that is being ejected can be held in the slot19 by the frictional force applied between the slot 19 (the curtain 32on the slot 19) and the large-diameter disk 2A.

In addition, when the large-diameter disk 2A is pulled out from the slot19, the pushing lever 76 pushes the first rotating arm 35 and the secondrotating arm 36 such that the pushing lever 76 is released from thestopper 110. Accordingly, when the large-diameter disk 2A is pulled outfrom the slot 19, the frictional force between the slot 19 (the curtain32 on the slot 19) and the large-diameter disk 2A is eliminated and thepushing lever 76 becomes disengaged from the stopper 110. Therefore, thefirst rotating arm 35 and the second rotating arm 36 can be returned to,for example, the HOME state without using a mechanism for canceling theengagement.

Next, the behavior of the disk 2 in a region near the slot 19 when thedisk 2 is inserted will be described below. FIGS. 31A and 31B and FIGS.32A and 32B are sectional views illustrating the manners in which thedisk 2 is inserted though the slot 19 in the disk drive device accordingto the embodiment of the present invention and a known disk drivedevice. FIGS. 31A and 32A are schematic sectional views illustrating thedisk drive device 1 according to the present embodiment when the disk 2is inserted, and FIGS. 31B and 32B are schematic sectional viewsillustrating the known disk drive device when the disk 2 is inserted.

As shown in FIGS. 31B and 32B, in the known disk drive device, unlikethe present embodiment, the protruding surface 150 a is not formedalthough the sheet member 151 is adhered to the pickup unit 22.Accordingly, when the disk 2 is inserted, there is a risk that the disk2 will come into contact with the objective lens 25 a of the pickupmechanism 25 or other components. In such a case, the disk 2 or theobjective lens 25 a will be damaged and it becomes difficult to performthe recording/reproducing operation with high reliability.

In comparison, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS.31A and 32A, the disk 2 is guided by the protruding surface 150 a so asto move above the pickup mechanism 25 toward the flange 138 of therotating arm 35 even when the disk 2 is inserted through the slot 19 inthe inclined manner. More specifically, since the protruding surface 150a is provided, the disk 2 does not come into contact with the objectivelens 25 a of the pickup mechanism 25 even when the disk 2 is inserted inthe inclined manner. Accordingly, the disk 2 and the lens 25 a areprevented from being damaged. In addition, since the sheet member 151 isadhered to the protruding surface 150 a, the disk 2 is prevented frombeing damaged even if the disk 2 comes into contact with the protrudingsurface 150 a when the disk 2 is ejected.

Next, the behavior of the disk 2 in a region near the slot 19 when thedisk 2 is ejected will be described below. FIG. 33 is a schematicsectional side view illustrating a region around the projecting surface150 a when the disk 2 is ejected. FIGS. 34A and 34B are sectional sideviews illustrating examples of manners in which the sheet member 151,which impedes the ejection of the disk 2, is adhered.

As shown in FIGS. 34A and 34B, if an end face 151 a of the sheet member151 is exposed in a region between the projecting surface 150 a and theinclined surface 150 b, there is a risk that the peripheral portion ofthe disk 2 collides with the end face 151 a and the disk 2 will becaught by the end face 151 a. In such a case, it becomes difficult toeject the disk 2 any further.

In comparison, as shown in FIG. 33, according to the present embodiment,when the disk 2 released from the chucking position is caused toapproach the protruding surface 150 a in the ejection operation of thefirst and the second rotating arms 35 and 36, first, the disk 2 comesinto contact with the projections 152 provided on the inclined surface150 b. Then, the disk 2 is guided by the projections 152 and moves overthe inclined surface 150 b without coming into contact with the end face151 a of the sheet member 151. In other words, since the projections 152are provided, the disk 2 smoothly moves onto the surface of the sheetmember 151 without being caught by the end face 151 a of the sheetmember 151, and is ejected through the slot 19. Accordingly, the diskejection operation can be performed with high reliability.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment,and various modifications are possible within the scope of the presentinvention.

In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of projections 152 areprovided independently of the cover plate 150 so as to extend from thecover plate surface 150 f to the inclined surface 150 b. However, asshown in FIG. 35, a projection 152 may be formed integrally with thecover plate 150 in an N-shape (Z-shape) along the inclined surface 150b, and the end face 151 a of the sheet member 151 may be placed in arecess provided between the projection 152 and the inclined surface 150b. Also in this case, the disk 2 is guided onto the surface of the sheetmember 151 without causing the disk 2 to be caught by the end face 151 aof the sheet member 151.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 36, a slit 150 i may be formed in thecover plate 150 and the sheet member 151 may be adhered in such a mannerthat the sheet member 151 extends through the slit 150 i and is foldedonto the bottom surface of the base plate 150. Accordingly, the end face151 a of the sheet member 151 is not exposed. This structure and theguiding effect obtained by the above-described projections 152 allow thedisk 2 to be more reliably prevented from being caught.

In the above-described embodiment, the sheet member 151 is adhered tothe protruding surface 150 a. However, instead of adhering the sheetmember 151, the overall region of the protruding surface 150 a may becoated with resin, such as urethane, that does not easily damage therecording surface of the disk 2. In addition, not only the protrudingsurface 150 a but the entire area of the cover plate 150 may be coated.

In the above-described embodiment, the rotating arms are used in thedisk-conveying mechanism. However, other structures, for example, a pairof guide rollers, may also be used.

The disk drive device 1 according to the above-described may be used inpersonal computers (PC), audio/visual (AV) apparatuses, in-vehicleapparatuses, etc., or be formed as a stand alone device.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

1. A disk drive device comprising: a housing having a front side thathas a slot through which a disk-shaped recording medium is inserted andejected; a pickup unit including a mount on which the disk recordingmedium is mounted, a rotating mechanism that rotates the disk recordingmedium mounted on the mount, a pickup mechanism capable of reproducing asignal recorded on the recording medium, a pickup-moving mechanism thatmoves the pickup mechanism in a radial direction of the recordingmedium, and a base plate that has a protruding surface guiding the diskrecording medium toward the mount and on which the mount, the rotatingmechanism, the pickup mechanism, and the pickup-moving mechanism areintegrated; and a conveying mechanism that conveys the recording mediumbetween the slot and the mount.
 2. The disk drive device according toclaim 1, wherein the protruding surface is integrated on the base plate.3. The disk drive device according to claim 1, wherein the pickup unitfurther includes a sheet member that is adhered so as to cover theprotruding surface and is composed of fiber or leather.
 4. The diskdrive device according to claim 3, wherein the base plate has aprojection that guides the recording medium onto a surface of the sheetmember when the recording medium is ejected.
 5. The disk drive deviceaccording to claim 4, wherein the sheet member has an end face thatfaces a direction in which the recording medium is inserted, and whereinthe projection is provided so as to cover the end face.
 6. The diskdrive device according to claim 4, wherein the base plate has a slit ata position closer to the slot than the projection, and wherein the sheetmember extends through the slit and is folded onto a bottom surface ofthe base plate.
 7. The disk drive device according to claim 1, whereinthe protruding surface has a drawn portion.
 8. The disk drive deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the protruding surface is coated withresin.
 9. The disk drive device according to claim 1, wherein the diskdrive device is capable of receiving a first disk and a second disk asthe recording medium, the first disk having a first diameter and thesecond disk having a second diameter that is different from the firstdiameter.
 10. The disk drive device according to claim 1, wherein theprotruding surface is arranged such that the protruding surface covers apart of the pickup mechanism when the pickup mechanism is moved to aposition adjacent to the slot by the pickup-moving mechanism.
 11. Thedisk drive device according to claim 1, wherein the protruding surfaceis located adjacent to the slot in the pickup unit.
 12. An electronicapparatus comprising: a disk drive device including a housing having afront side that has a slot through which a disk-shaped recording mediumis inserted and ejected, a pickup unit including a mount on which thedisk recording medium is mounted, a rotating mechanism that rotates thedisk recording medium mounted on the mount, a pickup mechanism capableof reproducing a signal recorded on the recording medium, apickup-moving mechanism that moves the pickup mechanism in a radialdirection of the recording medium, and a base plate that has aprotruding surface guiding the disk recording medium toward the mountand on which the mount, the rotating mechanism, the pickup mechanism,and the pickup-moving mechanism are integrated, and a conveyingmechanism that conveys the recording medium between the slot and themount; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the diskdrive device.